Childish
by Applelalla
Summary: When a spell goes disastrously wrong, Elphaba suddenly finds herself stuck looking after a five year old version of Galinda. However, keeping the transformation a secret from the rest of Shiz turns out to be the hardest task of all.
1. In which Galinda succeeds in failing

**  
'_Childish'_**_  
Chapter One:_ In which Galinda succeeds…in failing.

* * *

Sighing heavily, Galinda rested her chin in one hand while flipping idly through the pages of her heavy textbook with the other.

Spells for this, spells for that…what was the use when she was only allowed to study them from a theoretical point of view? Not that practical study; a supervised, classroom contained rarity, was a great deal more interesting. Each class usually culminated with Galinda red and flushed in the face, having achieved little more than making herself short of breath and increasingly frustrated while Elphaba received rapturous praise from Madam Morrible.

"There's no real 'trick' to it." Elphaba shrugged when a tired and cranky Galinda demanded to know just how the green girl was managing to achieve such success in their sorcery seminar. "I just study the theory, and once I understand exactly how a spell is constructed, I find it much easier to work it properly."

"I study too, you know…" Galinda fought to keep herself from whining. "But it _still_ doesn't work for me."

Elphaba's lips quirked into a small smile.

"How odd."

"No, really, Elphie. Don't tease me." The blonde shook her head, causing her golden ringlets to bounce gently around her pale face. "I was so sure I had a talent for sorcery."

"Galinda, even people with talent need to study the basics."

"I thought that talented people didn't _have_ to study. That's the point of being talented."

"Chin up, you sad little thing." Elphaba brushed her knuckles gently against Galinda's cheek, and her friend turned to her with a glum expression. "Make some time to study with me tomorrow morning, and before too long you'll be knocking Madam Morrible flat with your new and unexpected magical talent."

"Literally?" Galinda's wry smile was hopeful.

"Well, we can only wait and see. And just between you and me, that's something I wouldn't mind having a front row seat for."

Thus, the next morning Galinda had begrudgingly taken up a place at her cluttered desk, clearing a space amongst the trashy romance novels, sweet wrappers and colourful cosmetics to make room for her study materials.

"For the first hour- ("_Hour!?"_ Galinda almost yelped) – I'll leave you to do a little self study. Write down all the questions you have to ask and anything else you don't understand. When you've done that, I'll sit with you and we'll go over it all together."

"Okay." Galinda tried very hard not to scowl.

And then, with a jerky satisfied nod, Elphaba had crossed the room to her own desk, sat down and begun scribbling annotations all over the tiny print of the textbook.

Seeing no other option, Galinda had done the same.

--

"_It is through the action of absorbing the four harmonizing representations of the constructive balancing principles that causes the spontaneous materialization of the sub-spell." _

Galinda rubbed her eyes and read the sentence two more times, yet it remained as elusive and incomprehensible as before.

How long had she been sitting here studying for?

She had skimmed through the textbook twice, trying to find a single comprehensible chapter to start with. However, each time a slightly normal phrase, such as 'The Basics of Spell Theory' caught her eye, it was more often than not followed by a page of scientific gibberish.

After gritting her teeth and dragging herself through Chapter 1, Galinda finally opened her exercise book and began to scrawl some half-hearted questions, such as:

"_What is meant by deconstructive theory?"_

"_In the chapter about elemental manipulation, what are the four key catalysts?"_

"_Just what _is_ a catalyst, anyway?"_

"_Is the 'Circle of the Alchemical Balance' in any way related to the 'Circle of Life'?_

"_How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?"_

Galinda groaned and drummed her fingers silently against the page in front of her. Her concentration was slipping, as was her ability to sit quietly.

Sneaking a peek over her shoulder, she saw her roommate still hunched over her desk, writing notes rapidly. Galinda's eyes darted to the clock suspended above Elphaba's desk; an action which caused the blonde girl to slump backwards into the chair and face her desk with a heavy sigh.

Fifteen minutes!

It had only been fifteen minutes!

She had flicked through the textbook three times, written five questions, and _still_ only fifteen minutes had elapsed. Toying with the corner of the textbook, Galinda let her mind wander, entertaining silly fantasies and idle daydreams.

Would she buy that lovely pink gown she saw last week at the boutique? It _was _a little out of fashion, but it suited her so exquisitely. However, if she were to purchase the garment, then she would have to get some new make up to match - the pink hue of the dress was more peachy than rose coloured, and she didn't have any appropriate peachy blush. Was it _too_ outrageous to buy a whole new makeup set just to accompany one dress?

Galinda turned the page of her book absentmindedly as she drifted through her thoughts. Now, why couldn't there be some sort of spell to change makeup colours at will? In fact, she wondered, why couldn't there be some sort of 'beautification spell' that could give the enhancement and perfection that cosmetics provided, thus eliminating the need to apply even a single product?

Galinda turned to the index of the textbook hopefully, scanning the tiny print underneath the letter 'M'. Disappointment was soon to follow, however, as she discovered not a single reference to 'makeup', 'cosmetics' or even 'beautification'.

The blonde girl frowned and traced a finger down the columns of text slowly. She was _sure_ Madam Morrible was using some kind of cosmetic spell – there was no way the old bag was able to apply such layers of makeup every morning and still be ready for an 8:30 lecture. Frustrated and ready to give up, Galinda was about to shut the book when a certain spell title grabbed her attention. There it was – she was sure of it – the spell that Madam Morrible was using to maintain her appearance! For, in-between the spells 'Yoghurt Fermentation Spell' and 'Yule Festival Spell' was the spell entitled '_Youthfulness Spell'_.

--

Elphaba snuck another quick look over her shoulder to where Galinda had been working quietly for nearly half an hour. She was proud of the blonde girl; not one complaint or whine had come out of her mouth since they began studying. Elphaba had been consciously keeping an eye on her room mate, and every time she peeked over her shoulder, Galinda had her head down over the textbook, concentrating hard.

Stretching her hands above her head, the green girl cracked her neck from side to side and rolled her shoulders. Maybe she would make a pot of hot chocolate to share; Galinda deserved a reward for dedicating her Sunday morning to study without too many words of protest.

Elphaba had just risen out of her chair and was about to ask if Galinda felt like a drink when suddenly-

_CRAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!_

The blasting sound nearly knocked Elphaba off her feet and she staggered against her desk in shock, coughing heavily as smoke billowed through the room, obscuring her vision.

"Galinda! Galinda! Sweet Oz, Galinda are you alright?!"

Elphaba stumbled as she tried to navigate her way across to Galinda's desk through the heavy smoke, pressing her sleeve against her mouth as she moved. What was that sound?

Paranoia crept into the green girls mind – had somebody booby-trapped their room? It had happened once before, when one of Galinda's lacy bras had fastened itself determinedly to Elphaba's shoe, and the blonde had been forced to remove it (albeit begrudgingly) with manicure scissors.

But this noise, this smoke – it was far more sinister than a suspiciously superglue covered undergarment! They couldn't be under attack, could they? No, that was unreasonable - Shiz was a university, not a military base! She coughed again, and as she inevitably inhaled some of the smoke, realization struck.

Elphaba could recognize that unmistakable tang of magic anywhere.

"GALINDA, what have you DONE!?" she howled in shock. "We were studying spell THEORY, not PRACTICAL! And if you wanted to do practical, why couldn't you just have LEVITATED A PENCIL, instead of BLOWING THE ROOM UP!?"

_Or blowing yourself up_, she added silently, suddenly fearful at the blondes uncharacteristic silence. This fear was only increased as she took a few shaky steps closer towards her roommate's desk and saw the dress that Galinda had been wearing was in a crumpled heap on the floor.

As the smoke began to clear, Elphaba found herself suddenly unable to move forward, her jaw clamped firmly together and her gaze transfixed by what appeared to be all that remained of her dear friend.

"Galinda?"

Elphaba extended her hand slowly, reaching for the mound of clothes, dreading and hoping at the same time of what she would find. However, before she could even touch the garment, a sudden movement caused her to retract her hand as quickly as if she'd been burned.

The clothes were _quivering_.

No, Elphaba realised, there was something quivering _inside_ the clothes.

Something was caught underneath all the layers of lace and silk, and was clamoring to free itself.

Resisting the urge to scuttle backwards to a safer position, Elphaba watched on in shock as a small figure emerged from underneath the dress.

"Effie?"

She had a head of bright golden curls, a pair of enormous sparkling blue eyes, a petite button nose and a pair of lips as perfectly pouted and red as a cherry. Clad in nothing more than a silk slip about ten sizes too big, with a brassier hanging limply around her waist, the small child stared up nervously at the green girl in front of her.

"Effie?" her tiny voice repeated.

"Ga…linda?" Elphaba croaked, unable to believe her eyes. It couldn't be possible, and yet at the same time, there was no mistaking the familiar features of her friend in the face of the little girl sitting in front of her. Her mannerisms, her expression – everything was similar beyond coincidence.

Elphaba knew then, without a doubt that she was looking at a five year old version of Galinda Upland.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. Those who send feedback shall receive a gift-wrapped Elphaba of their own to give homework help as required!


	2. In which Elphaba considers her options

**  
'_Childish'_**  
_Chapter Two:_ In which Elphaba considers her options.

* * *

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Sitting clumsily on the floor in front of the little girl, Elphaba outstretched a long fingered green hand and waved it slowly.

"Effie…?"

"How many fingers?"

Little Galinda's bottom lip began to tremble.

"Th-three?"

Elphaba looked at her own hand and quickly double checked the number of extended digits – just to make sure that she wasn't, in fact, hallucinating.

"Yes, good girl. Three."

Elphaba lowered her hand, and scrutinized the half naked child sitting partially buried underneath the silky layers of pink dress. How could this have possibly happened? It was magic, a spell, certainly…but as far as Elphaba was aware, Galinda was unable to even master the basics of sorcery, let alone perform a transformation enchantment of this magnitude. She would have suspected that the whole thing was a hoax, had the expression of disorientation and panic on the little girl's face not been so convincing.

_Calm down, Elphaba. _The green girl shook her head briskly. _There'll be an appropriate explanation, just keep your composure and start at the beginning._

"Can you tell me what your name is?"

"Galinda Upland." The faintest trace of pride crossed the little girl's face. "Of the Upper Uplands. My mummy and popsy made me memorize our home address in case I get lost. Do you want to hear it? It's-"

"No, that's alright." Elphaba cut her off abruptly. That was one particular can of worms she absolutely did not want to open. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Galinda's parents would say upon discovering their precious daughter had spelled away the previous fifteen years of her life. The green girl clenched and unclenched her jaw, doing her best to remain calm.

"So, Galinda…can you tell me _exactly_ what happened?"

"What…happened?" The blonde girl blinked.

"Do you remember casting a spell? Can you tell me what you did? Do you know how in Oz you changed yourself from a fully grown woman into a..a…_a toddler!?_"

Unable to control her emotions, Elphaba's voice rose in octave and Galinda visibly flinched.

"I-I-I…I...don't…"

Tears spilled out of her baby blue eyes.

"I don't know, I don't…I just…there was this shrinking feeling, and it felt like my tummy was all twisty and then I woke up, and all of a sudden it was all cold and dark and I was trapped inside something soft and I…I couldn't get out and then it was all bright again…and..and.."

Galinda began to cry in earnest.

"S'was so scary!"

"Oh, Galinda, please…this is- please _don't _cry, my sweet – this is very important!" Elphaba reached out and awkwardly patted the top of little girl's ringlets. "Do you know where you are? Do you recognize this room?"

Galinda sniffled and shook her head.

"Do you know who _I_ am?" Elphaba asked slightly desperately.

"You're Effie! Effie!"

And stumbling a little as she extracted herself from the crumpled dress, Galinda flung herself towards the green girl, burying her tear stained face in Elphaba's shoulder.

"Well, that's a start." Elphaba muttered, and she gently but firmly unhooked the little girl's fingers from her dress and guided her towards the bed. Galinda walked uncertainly; the silk slip, which would have barely reached the adult sized Galinda's knees, trailed across the floor in her wake and she hitched it up doggedly.

"Now," Elphaba said when the little girl was seated comfortably. "I need you to stay here quietly for a few moments while I find out exactly what happened."

She made firm eye contact with the child; a technique that always seemed to work on Nessarose when she was young.

"Can you do that for me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good."

Without a second glance, Elphaba hurried over to Galinda's desk, looking for any clues, any signs, _anything_ that could explain her friend's sudden transformation. And, hopefully – some way of reversing it!

Her hands passed over the trashy romance novels, the sweet wrappers, the exercise book with the 'questions' Galinda had written about the course material (for Oz sake, she didn't even understand what a catalyst was!?), and still she was no closer to the truth. It was only when she was tossing lipsticks haphazardly into the desk draw that her eye caught sight of a dog-eared page sticking out of the textbook. Carefully, she opened the book and unfolded the corner (cursing Galindas lack of book care as she did so – dog-eared pages were one of her strongest pet peeves) to find the spell Galinda had triple underlined. Triple underlined _and_ asterisked. She gave a wry smile. This was the one, all right.

Pushing her glasses further up her nose, she read:

'_Youthfulness Spell:_

_A spell designed to reverse the aging process, using an intricate manipulation of body tissue in response to the calculations of the caster.'_

Elphaba eyes widened. Following the introduction was a page filled with some of the most complex formulas and instructions she had ever seen. She skimmed through the text quickly, wondering how in Oz Galinda had been able to understand such a difficult spell.

_This spell is very uncommon, as the complexity of the calculations required to achieve the desired result often results in fatal mistakes. Common errors include over-aging or under aging – both of which have deadly consequences._

Elphaba gulped and read on.

_Another reason why this spell is so rarely performed is the lack of permanency of the final transformation. However, as the length of the transformation fluctuates with the power of the caster, there is no way of predicting the how long the effects will last for. Previous cases have shown the effects to last anywhere from one day to several months. However, when the transformation runs out of power, the spell will be reversed with no permanent side effects. _

No permanent side effects.

Elphaba took a deep breath and let relief wash over her. What lovely words they were.

Soothing words.

No permanent side effects. _No permanent side effects._

…

Wait.

…

The transformation could last for _several months!?_

Elphaba collapsed into Galinda's chair, torn between relief that the spell was not permanent, and horror that she could be babysitting a five year old Galinda for the next few months.

Elphaba did not like children. As far as she was concerned, she had served her time when Nessarose was a baby. And as much as she (rather secretly) adored Galinda, she was not sure that this adoration was going to survive months of temper tantrums and teething problems.

Elphaba closed the textbook and rested her hands briefly on the cover. It was time to think calmly and logically. Galinda was a child now. A very young, very clingy child that needed constant supervision. As far as Elphaba was concerned, that left her with only three options. They were, as follows:

1. Keep Galinda inside the room and look after the girl herself. A time consuming and tiring role that Elphaba was not keen to possess.

2. Drop Galinda off at another student's room. Preferably with a cardboard sign around her neck saying 'Please Adopt'.

3. Send Galinda home. Preferably with a cardboard sign around her neck saying 'Please raise properly this time around.'

Elphaba chewed the inside of her cheek as she rolled the options around. In all seriousness, number two and number three were not particularly feasible options. Firstly, Elphaba would no doubt be blamed for Galinda's transformation – after all, who would believe that the blonde girl who had never shown any magical aptitude could have performed such a powerful spell. It was much more likely that Elphaba would be seen as the villain and punished as such.

Then there was the possibility that the transformation would be short lived and that Galinda would return to her normal age and size at any minute. And, if that were to happen - nobody would to need know that anything out of the ordinary had occurred.

Elphaba closed her eyes in defeat as she made her decision.

There was nothing else for it.

She would have to look after Galinda until the transformation was reversed. It was best for both Galinda and Elphaba if nobody else found out about their little 'magical accident', though Elphaba had no idea how she would manage this if Galinda stayed in her child form for the next couple of months. She couldn't even use the visiting 'distant relative' excuse – nobody in Oz would believe that she and Galinda were of the same blood. Not with those blonde curls and blue eyes.

Elphaba turned to face where the little girl was sitting on the bed, perhaps in some final, desperate hope that maybe she actually _could_ pass Galinda off as a younger sister or cousin, however her eyes met nothing but empty space.

Galinda was nowhere to be seen. The silk slip she had been wearing was lying in a rumpled pile in the middle of the bedspread.

Elphaba jumped out of her chair so fast that it toppled to the ground behind her with a crash.

"Galinda!" she barked, surveying the room in such rapid movements that objects actually blurred in her vision. "Galinda, come here _right now!_"

Only silence greeted her rasping voice.

"Galinda, I'm going to count to three – and you had better come here before I get to three! Okay!? Are you ready – One, Two-"

Elphaba paused and looked around with a slightly manic expression, desperate for any sign of the little girl.

"Three!"

More silence. Elphaba kicked the fallen chair in frustration. The pint-sized blonde must have slipped out of the room to explore the rest of the dorm while she had been caught up in her thinking.

"Damn it!"

As Elphaba cursed and bent down to pick up the chair, her eye caught sight of a small foot sticking out ever so slightly from underneath her own bed.

A child sized, trembling pink foot.

Carefully and silently, Elphaba replaced the chair behind Galinda's desk and walked very slowly over to the suspect bed.

"Galinda." The green girl folded her arms. "Are you hiding underneath my bed?"

There was a short silence.

"I can see your foot."

There was another short silence, in which the little pink foot was rapidly pulled further underneath the bed and out of Elphaba's sight.

"Do I have to come down there myself and pull you out, or are you going to come out of your own accord?" Elphaba tapped her shoe impatiently against the floor.

"I-don't-wanna!" Galinda's voice was high pitched and nervous. "You'll-be-mad-at-me-and-I-don't-wanna-get-in-tr-tr-trouble!!"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Elphaba was perplexed, and getting down on her hands and knees she peered underneath the bed. Wide eyed in the darkness, Galinda stared back.

"Caus-you-looked…look-mad…and-you-were-angry-at-me-caus-I-don't-remember-anything…and then…you-didn't-talk-to-me-and-sat-at-the-desk-and-sighed-a-lot-and…and-"

"Oh, my sweet, I'm not angry at _you!_" Elphaba tried despite her frustration to give the little girl a reassuring smile. "I was just a little bit worried, that's all. So you can come out from under there now."

"And-caus-I..I-accidentally-took-this-from-underneath-your-pillow-and-" Galinda opened her hands to reveal Elphaba's precious green elixir bottle, now covered in tiny, sticky fingerprints.

"_Accidentally!?_? What do you mean _accidentally!?_"

Seizing Galinda's feet, Elphaba dragged the little girl kicking and screaming from underneath the bed and dumped her unceremoniously on the mattress.

"Do _not_ take things of mine, 'accidentally' or otherwise, do you understand me!?"

Shocked tears were running down Galinda's cheeks and she threw the little bottle down onto the bed cover, where it bounced twice before lying still.

"I-I didn't _mean_ to take it, I _was_ just looking, and 'sides, it's ugly anyway!" she wiped her hands across her face, spreading tears and mucus all over her cheeks. "And you sa-said you _weren't_ angry at m-me!"

Elphaba snatched up the bottle, and stashed it in its usual hiding place underneath her pillow. She gritted her teeth as the sound of Galinda's sobbing and hiccoughing filled the room.

_This_ was why she hated children. Senseless tantrums, no sense of personal space, no knowledge of logic or reason. As far as she was concerned, children were all self-absorbed, whiny, clingy little-

"I'm sorry, Effie."

Elphaba turned around to look at the little girl in surprise.

"I'm really, really sorry Effie. Please forgive me." Galinda's voice was hesitant and small, her face red and puffy from crying and shiny where the mucus was beginning to dry. She was completely naked now that the slip had fallen off and was sitting hunched over and trembling.

But her eyes, her big blue eyes stared right into Elphaba's with complete sincerity and honesty.

And Elphaba's heart melted just a little bit.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. Those who give feedback shall receive their very own pint-sized Galinda to cuddle until their heart melts a little bit too. (Pint-sized Elphaba and Fiyero also available upon request).

_-note: 10 reviews for my first chapter? You guys are amazing! I'm very touched – and really inspired to keep writing!_


	3. In which tantrums are thrown

**'_Childish'_**_  
Chapter Three:_ In which tantrums are thrown.

* * *

"Now, Galinda, I'm going to go over them again, so please try to pay attention. Rule number one: No leaving this room without my permission. Rule number two: No touching anything in this room without my permission. Rule number three: No more hiding under beds."

"Without your permission?" Galinda added, with an innocent expression that could have fooled nobody.

"Don't be cheeky, young madam." Elphaba frowned. "These rules are in place for your own good, and it will do neither you nor me any good if you decide to go against them."

"But-"

"Rule number four- " Elphaba interrupted, holding up a hand. "No answering back."

Galinda stuck out her bottom lip and mumbled something underneath her breath that sounded suspiciously like "Effie is a poop-head."

"_I beg your pardon!?"_

Galinda ignored Elphaba's outraged cry with a very deliberate toss of her head.

"Galinda, I think you said something very rude, and I would like you to apologise."

Elphaba sternly took Galinda's chin in her hand and guided the little girls face until they were looking at each other.

"I didn't say anything." Galinda muttered glaring down at her lap.

"I think you did. And it wasn't very nice, was it?"

"No, I didn't I-_Ah-aah-ACHOO!_"

Galinda's head flew forward as she gave an enormous sneeze; the consequence being that Elphaba, who was still sitting directly in front of the little girl, ended up with a face covered in spittle and snot.

"Rule number five," said Elphaba slightly shakily as she scrabbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. "Cover your face when you sneeze."

"Sorry."

Somehow, even with a slug sized boogie handing out of her nose, Galinda still managed to look endearing.

"That's okay." Elphaba replied briskly as she reached forward and placed the hanky over Galinda's nose, having finished wiping her own face. "Blow."

The blonde obliged. Her nose, Elphaba noted, was extremely cold. Well, it was no wonder – the little girl was still sitting on the bed wearing no more than the skin she had been born in.

Elphaba sighed. First things first, she supposed.

"Galinda." The green girl folded the used hanky into a neat square and placed it on the nightstand. "We need to find you something to wear."

"Dresses!"

It was as though a light bulb had been switched on behind those big blue eyes, for Elphaba had never seen them shine quite so brightly.

"Well, maybe."

"My favourite colour is pink!" Galinda beamed.

"I'm well aware of that." Elphaba resisted rolling her eyes.

"Where are we going shopping?"

"Shopping? Oh no, my sweet, we're not going shopping." Elphaba replied, startled. "No, no…no, we're definitely _not_ going shopping."

"Oh."

Off went the light bulb behind those great big blue eyes. Elphaba felt like she'd just taken candy from a baby, sold it to the black market and stolen a charity collection tin for good measure on her way home.

"Don't fret, my sweet. I'm sure we can find something for you to wear."

Getting to her feet, Elphaba went to the one place she would normally never, ever dare to approach.

Galinda's wardrobe.

Creaking open one door, and then the other, Elphaba was astounded, as usual, by the layers of silk, lace, velvet, fur and various other fabrics in every colour imaginable (with the exception of black, of course.)

Elphaba hesitated for a second, before vigorously rummaging through the assorted garments, hoping that somewhere amongst the gowns, petticoats, hoop skirts, ruffle skirts, bubble skirts and all the other unidentifiable skirts, was a child sized item of clothing. Galinda did seem the kind of girl to hold onto nostalgic items of clothing – especially if it was a cute little doll sized dress. Especially if it was a _pink_ cute little doll sized dress.

However, after Elphaba had gone through the wardrobe twice, from end to end, she was forced to admit defeat. Even if Galinda was the kind of girl that held onto childhood clothes, she was clearly not the kind of girl who brought them to university with her. Perhaps Elphaba had been unreasonable to hope so.

"Is there anything pink for me to wear?" a little voice chirped from the other side of the room.

There was nothing, pink or otherwise, but Elphaba wasn't about to tell Galinda that. She closed the wardrobe doors, and bared her teeth in what could possibly have passed as a smile, had the rest of her facial muscles not been clenched so fiercely.

"No, silly me. I was looking in the wrong wardrobe."

She stomped over to the other side of the room, and flung open her own cupboard doors with ill-concealed frustration. Goodness knows, there wasn't going to be _anything _pink in here, but Galinda didn't know that.

Well, she _probably_ didn't know that. Elphaba was still unsure about how much knowledge Galinda had retained throughout the transformation process.

Her eyes traveled slowly over the well worn items of clothing that hung limply in her closet. A couple of dark, shapeless dresses, her uniform, her spare nightdress and underclothes, stockings, socks, gloves, the hat that Galinda had given her, and of course, the pink flower that had been bestowed on her the very same day. Nothing remotely child-sized, and of course nothing remotely pink. Except for the flower- which, Elphaba reasoned as she picked it up and rolled it around in her fingers, probably didn't belong to her as Galinda had never actually 'given' it away. For all she knew, the blonde was going to demand to be reunited with it at any moment.

Elphaba sighed, and tossed the flower back down into the wardrobe, where it landed right on top of her spare sheets and pillow cases. The green girl eyed the worn bedding reproachfully; a fat lot of help the pile of old manchester was going to be in this current situation.

Wait. Unless...

Elphaba grabbed one of the pillow cases and held it out, eying it for size. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of this sooner? Clutching the grey pillowcase in one hand, she darted over to her desk and after rummaging in one of the draws, seized a pair of scissors. A quick snip at the top of the case, and one on each side…and _voila!_ The green girl looked at her handiwork smugly, proud of her resourcefulness. One, ready-made, child-sized dress.

"Here we are! I've found you some clothes!"

Elphaba flourished the pillowcase-dress at Galinda, who stared at it blankly.

"Well, go on, put it on."

"It's a pillow-case." The little girl said flatly.

"No, no…it's a dress." Elphaba showed her the newly cut head and arm holes in the fabric. "See?"

"It's a pillow-case."

"It's a dress. Put it on."

"No."

Elphaba's smile faded away, and she put her hands on her hips.

"Why not?"

"It's a pillowcase. It's not a dress. And it's not pretty. And it's not pink."

And with that, Galinda turned her head, folded her arms and glowered at the wall. Elphaba was left holding out the pillowcase, a look of incredulity and annoyance clearly visible on her face.

"Not pink, _indeed!_"

Elphaba stomped back over to her closet, and flung open the doors. Grabbing the pink flower, she clipped it to the front of the pillow-case dress and stomped back over to where the little girl was sulking.

"Here." She brandished the pillow-case dress in Galinda's face. "It's pink now."

Galinda's eyes travelled up and down the garment and Elphaba frowned.

"Stop glaring at the dress and just put it on, for Oz sake!"

"It's not actually _pink_, it's just got a pink flower clipped on it." The little girl rolled her eyes. "And it's _still_ a pillowcase. And it's _still_ ugly. The flower is _ugly_ too."

"It's _your_ flower!" Elphaba's lip curled.

"No, it's not! It's _your_ flower, and _your_ pillowcase! _You_ wear it."

Elphaba's patience snapped.

"Pillow-case or not, pink or not,_ whether you like it or NOT, _you are _going_ to put this on, and you are _going_ to put it on right _now!_" she exploded, and wrenched the garment over Galinda's head.

The blonde gave a high pitched scream, and struggled against the green girl's bony arms.

"NOOOO!" she wailed. "NOOOOO! I DON'T WANNA!"

"I don't care!" Elphaba snapped back, wrestling one small pink arm, then the other through the makeshift holes. "You are going to wear it, whether you like it or not!"

"Nooooo! NOOO!"

It was during this moment that Elphaba realised just how different looking after Galinda was going to be in comparison to looking after Nessarose. Being wheelchair bound, Nessa often had little choice other than to co-operate. And despite being demanding in her own way, she had never been able to physically fight back or run away.

Unlike Galinda.

The little girl squirmed and struggled and wriggled and pulled and wrenched and tugged and writhed and twisted.

And bit.

"OUCH!" Elphaba lunged backwards as Galinda extracted herself from out of the pillowcase-dress for the umpteenth time. "Did you just…did you…did you just _bite_ me!?

Galinda glared and tossed her head stubbornly.

"No."

"Yes, you did!" Elphaba exclaimed in outrage as she inspected the tiny ring of dimpled skin on her hand. "Look! Teeth marks!"

"Did not."

"You did. Look."

Elphaba outstretched her hand, and when Galinda bent forward to look, the green girl seized the pillowcase and whipped it over the blonde's head with lightening speed.

"NOO!"

Before Galinda could squirm her way out again, Elphaba grabbed a ribbon from the nearby bed-stand and wrapped it tightly around Galinda's waist, securing the pillow-case in place with a tight knot.

"NOOO!"

Unable to remove the ribbon and forced to pull her arms through the raggedy arm holes, Galinda was at last trapped within the pillow-case dress.

She looked ridiculous.

But as far as Elphaba was concerned, clothes were clothes and they served the practical function of keeping oneself warm. Anything other than that was a bonus.

Galinda, unfortunately, did not share the same opinion.

"Get it off! GET IT OFF! PLEASE! GET IT OFF NOW!" She hollered in panic, scrabbling at the fabric with her tiny fingernails. "Oh, EFFIE, please! Get it off!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the green girl snapped back. "It took me long enough to get you _into_ it! There's no way I'm taking it off again!"

Galinda began to cry hysterically; her piercing wails echoing loudly around the bedroom. She beat her fists against the bed and howled incoherent words.

"Stop _crying!_" Elphaba bellowed in an attempt to be heard over the racket Galinda was making. "Galinda, _shut up!_"

There was no way that the thin walls of Shiz dormitory were going to block out the ear piercing screams of Galinda, and Elphaba knew that if the little girl didn't calm down soon, half the students and teaching staff would be knocking at the door demanding to know what was going on.

"They're just clothes! CLOTHES! Galinda, stop being so…so…SO _CHILDISH!_"

But Galinda either hadn't heard or didn't care, for she continued her inconsolable crying with increased fervor.

"Galinda, if you _don't _stop crying, I'm going to-"

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Elphaba froze.

Was there someone outside their room?

She couldn't be sure, what with the incredible volume of Galinda's cries, but-

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Oh no no no! There it was again. Someone was banging on their door, no doubt concerned by the amount of noise that Galinda was currently making.

"Galinda, shhh…please, shhh!" Elphaba flapped her hands around wildly as she made shushing noises, in a last desperate attempt to calm the little blonde down. "Shh, okay? Shhhhhh! Or we'll _both_ get in trouble! Please, my sweet, _be quiet!_"

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"Tah…tah…take…ihh..ohhhhffff…" Galinda gurgled as she choked over a sob and continued to weep. "Dohhn-wanna…whhheaaar a…a…ah…_icky...pillowcase!_"

Unable to ignore the knocking any longer, and yet, unable to leave Galinda unattended while she answered the door, Elphaba did the only thing she could think of. Seizing the little girl by the wrist, she half carried, half dragged her across the floor towards the bathroom. Opening the door, she picked up the sobbing blonde and plunked her in the empty bathtub. Shocked by the feeling of the cold ceramic surface on her skin, Galinda stopped crying momentarily and looked up at Elphaba with red rimmed eyes.

"Sit here. And don't make a sound."

Elphaba placed a finger to her lips, and slowly backed out of the bathroom, shutting the door firmly as she left. She could still hear Galinda's sobs, but at least they were muffled somewhat by the heavy wooden door that connected the bedroom to the bathroom.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK._

Gritting her teeth, Elphaba approached the door with apprehension.

_Please,_ she thought desperately as she turned the handle. _Please, please don't let it be Madam Morrible._

* * *

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. Those who guess the mystery character behind the door correctly shall receive a pillow-case dress, handmade by Elphaba herself. Available in light grey, dark grey, yellow grey and threadbare grey.

_-note: Sorry about the lateness of this chapter, I got carried away with some of the later chapters, and neglected this one slightly! Apologies and big thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. _


End file.
